THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS (2017) – My rating: 9/10

I honestly don’t know how they do it.  After seven Fast and Furious movies, they managed to make an eighth one even better than the others.  Dom turns bad?  Now there’s an interesting concept — the main character not only turns bad, he turns his back on the love of his life and the team he calls “family”.  That’s enough, if you’re a follower of the series, to hurry to your local theater and purchase a ticket to see it for yourself.

Director, F. Gary Gray has tied every scene together, giving every character a purpose.  Known for speed, excitement and fast and furious cars, this eighth installment is actually bigger, faster and features a barrage of fast, beautiful, slickly designed cars that would cause the likes of Mario Andretti to blush with envy.  So far The Fate of the Furious has grossed $690 million worldwide, making it the second highest-grossing film of 2017.  An untitled sequel is scheduled to be released on April 19, 2019.

The film opens with Dominic “Dom” Toretto (Vin Diesel) and Letty Ortiz (Michell Rodriguez) on their honeymoon in Havana.  Dom gets involved with his cousin’s spat at an auto show and is challenged to a street race by a local racer named Fernando (Janmarco Santiago). This turns out to be one of the most spectacular races I’ve seen because Dom is using his cousin’s beaten up, ancient, piece of car to race in.  I can only say by the end of the race, even I had new respect for Dom’s driving skills.   The next day, Dom encounters elusive cyber-terrorist Cipher (Charlize Theron), who appears to be a damsel in distress.  He tries to give her a hand with her car but her conversation lets him know that she knows him and is not very friendly.  She shows him a device right after telling him that he will now be working for her.  Cipher leaves after giving Dom full instructions as he fully accepts his new role.

SOME SPOILERS BELOW!

Dom and Letty along with team members Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson), Tej Parker (Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges) and Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel), are recruited by Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) to help him retrieve an EMP device from a military outpost in Berlin. During the getaway, Dom goes rogue, forcing Hobbs off the road and stealing the device for Cipher. Hobbs is arrested and locked up in the same high-security prison where he helped imprisoned Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham). After escaping, both are recruited by intelligence operative Mr. Nobody (Kurk Russell) and his protégé, Little Nobody (Scott Eastwood), to help the team find Dom and capture Cipher.  FYI:  Helen Mirren makes an uncredited cameo appearance as Magdalene Shaw, the mother of Deckard and Owen Shaw.

The whole cast moves to Russia where a long chase, war and shoot out takes place among the teams, which includes the Russians.  Here, there is a lot going on and the fate of the world, the movie and the plot depends on the outcome.  This lengthy scene was a bit much and a little hard to follow because it was easy to lose track of who was who.  The environment was extremely cold and the fight was cumbersome.  This may have shaved a few points off of an otherwise exciting thriller movie.  Charlize will blow your mind — you will probably want to blow hers right out of her head.  I highly recommend The Fate of the Furious. If you’re looking for a thriller, you’ve come to the right movie!

 

Save

Save

SUICIDE SQUAD (2016) – My rating: 6.5/10

I tried really hard to like Suicide Squad because I’m into the whole super hero thing.  I have to admit, as much as I like super heroes and meta-humans, Suicide Squad was suicide.  Some of the most deplorable meta-humans you can imagine are housed in Belle Reve Prison for their hideous crimes.

INTELLIGENCE OFFICER – Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), the government official who gives out the Squad’s orders.  Ambitious and devious, she has big plans and intends to let no meta-human or military protocol get in her way. Davis stated she is fascinated by the character, singling out her psychology and strength and describing her as a “powerful black woman, hard, ready to pick up a gun and shoot anyone at will.” She described Waller as “relentless in her villainy” and noted that her powers are “her intelligence and her complete lack of guilt.” Davis read M.E. Thomas’ autobiography Confessions of a Sociopath to prepare for her role.

ARMY SPECIAL FORCES COLONEL – Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), a West Point graduate who leads the Suicide Squad in the field. He is all business and executes Amanda Waller’s orders but does not always agree with her goals or methods.

---

In the aftermath of Superman’s death, Amanda Waller assembles Task Force X, which is placed under the command of Rick Flag, to be used as disposable assets in high-risk missions to rid the world of other deplorable rejects for the United States government. Each member has a nano bomb implanted in their neck, designed to detonate should any member rebel or try to escape.  Task Force X is comprised of the following dangerous meta-human, criminal rejects:

ELITE HITMAN – Deadshot aka Floyd Lawson (Will Smith), an expert marksman and assassin. A mercenary by day and a concerned father by night.  Deadshot is a conflicted criminal who enjoys the hunt, but is still trying to do right by his young daughter.

FORMER PSYCHIATRIST – Harley Quinn aka Harleen Quinzel (Margot Robbie), a crazed supervillain and former psychiatrist. Producer Richard Suckle describes this character as “a fan fave. Funny, crazy, scary. … You can’t come up with enough adjectives to describe all the different things you see her do.” Robbie describes Quinn as one of the Squad’s most manipulative members, and her relationship with Joker as “incredibly dysfunctional”, adding that Quinn is “mad about him—like, literally, mad. She’s crazy. But she loves him. And it’s a really unhealthy, dysfunctional relationship. But an addictive one.

PYROKINETIC EX-GANGSTER – El Diablo, aka Chato Santana (Jay Hernandez), a former Los Angeles gang member who has powers that allow him to summon flames, and transform himself into a monstrous horned demon-like entity. He has squelched his fire-conjuring powers to a solitary flame as penance for the horrors he inflicted on those he loved. Hernandez set his character apart from his teammates as he “just wants to stay out of the fight”, while “most of [Task Force X] are happy to get out there and kill people”.

OPPORTUNISTIC THIEF – Captain Boomerang aka George “Digger” Harkness (Jai Courtney),  a thief who utilizes deadly boomerangs, described as rugged, unpredictable and mouthy. About his role, Courtney stated, “he is an absolute bogan, in the purest sense”.

SPECIALIZED ASSASSIN – Slipknot aka Christopher Weiss (Adam Beach), A mercenary specializing in tactical grappling and scaling, who is the first member of the squad to be killed.

The following are significant characters who were not part of Task Force X:

The Joker (Jared Leto), a psychopathic supervillain and major love interest of Quinn. Leto described his role as “nearly Shakespearean” and a “beautiful disaster of a character”.  Leto never broke character throughout filming, with Smith going as far as stating he never met him.

Some FYI on the Joker:  In preparation for the role, Leto spent his time alone, listened to gospel music from the 1920s—commenting he senses “Joker may be much older than people think”—and read literature on shamanism. Influences for the character’s appearance include Mexican cartel bosses and the work of Alejandro Jodorowsky. Leto stated that he spoke with doctors and spent time with psychopaths in preparation for his role. The character’s tattoos were added by Ayer, who believed it gave a modernized gangster look to the Joker.

Dr. June Moone / Enchantress (Cara Delevingne), an archaeologist who is possessed by an ancient evil force that transforms her into a powerful sorceress. Unleashed after a long period of imprisonment, the entity draws the attention of Waller who intended to recruit Dr. Moone for the squad, Enchantress instead seeks revenge against mankind for imprisoning her and her brother’s souls in artifacts after years of worshipping them. Delevingne described Moone as “an adventure-seeker who’s always wanted some excitement” and Enchantress as “a feral being.”

Tatsu Yamashiro / Katana (Karen Fukuhara), an expert martial artist and swordswoman who mourns her husband’s death. She serves as Rick Flag’s bodyguard and wields the mystical Soultaker blade, capable of trapping the souls of its victims. As she is a volunteer, not a criminal, she does not have a micro-bomb implant. Fukuhara stated that Katana “has morals and codes. She can also slice through hundreds of people without taking a breath.”

GQ Edwards (Scott Eastwood), a Navy SEAL who assists Flag during the squad’s mission.

The dialogue was slick, ultra modern and a little strange in some places.  The special effects were absolutely brilliant and the plot was really out there with multiple routes to follow.  Most of Suicide Squad was too congested and overshadowed with too many crazy plots.  It was hard to follow however, despite the busyness, bits of entertainment shone through. If you are a fan of the comic book series you will probably get more out of the movie than a novice who doesn’t have a clue what they’re walking into.  I did like the movie but it’s definitely not for everyone.  Suicide Squad is available on DVD and Blu-Ray.

[Suicide Squad WON the 89th ANNUAL OSCAR AWARD for Makeup and Hairstyling]

Save